Aircraft landing gear assembly

ABSTRACT

An aircraft landing gear bogie beam including first and second ends and a mounting bearing for connection to an aircraft landing gear main strut between the ends. Each end has a respective axle, and each axle defines a wheel mounting portion on each side of the bogie beam. The bogie beam is arranged to enable the first and second axles to each pivot relative to the bearing about a respective longitudinal axis of the bogie beam by an amount that is sufficient to place a wheel rim of a wheel assembly in contact with the ground in the event of a tyre of the wheel assembly deflating.

This application is a divisional application of U.S. application Ser.No. 15/955,910, filed on Apr. 18, 2018, which claims the benefit of andpriority to European Application No. 17167354.4, filed on Apr. 20, 2017,the contents of both of which are incorporated herein by reference.

BACKGROUND

An aircraft landing gear for medium to large aircraft typically includesa pair of wheel assemblies mounted on a common axle. For largeraircraft, a landing gear may include an elongate bogie beam whichsupports two or more axles, each of which carries a pair of wheelassemblies.

A landing gear is designed to withstand operation loads when one of thetyres on an axle is deflated. In the case of a multi axle landing gear,the gear must be designed to withstand operation loads arising from aworst case combination of deflated tyres.

The present inventor has identified that the weight of known landinggear can be reduced.

SUMMARY

In accordance with a first aspect of the invention there is provided anaircraft landing gear assembly comprising:

-   -   an elongate bogie beam including a mounting formation via which        the bogie beam is arranged to be movably mounted to an aircraft        landing gear main strut, first and second end regions, a first        longitudinal axis extending between the mounting formation and        the first end region and a second longitudinal axis extending        between the mounting formation and the second end region;    -   a first axle mounted at a first end region of the bogie beam,        the first axle defining a first wheel mounting portion on a        first side of the bogie beam for supporting a first wheel        assembly and a second wheel mounting portion on a second side of        the bogie beam for supporting a second wheel assembly; and    -   a second axle mounted at a second end region of the bogie beam,        with the mounting formation between the first and second end        regions, the second axle defining a third wheel mounting portion        on the first side of the bogie beam for supporting a third wheel        assembly and a fourth wheel mounting portion on the second side        of the bogie beam for supporting a fourth wheel assembly,    -   wherein the bogie beam is arranged to enable the first and        second axles to each pivot relative to the mounting formation        about the longitudinal axis of the bogie beam by an amount which        is sufficient to place a wheel rim of a wheel assembly in        contact with the ground in the event of a tyre of the wheel        assembly deflating.

Thus, the bogie beam provides sufficient degrees of freedom to ensurethat the wheel loads are equal for various degrees of tyre inflationand/or runway camber.

The bogie beam may be arranged to enable the first and second axles toeach pivot relative to the mounting formation about the longitudinalaxis of the bogie beam by at least 8°.

The mounting formation of the bogie beam can be a circular cross sectionprofiled bearing arranged to pivotally couple the bogie beam to the mainstrut via a pivot pin.

The first longitudinal axis can be coaxial with respect to the secondlongitudinal axis.

The bogie beam can be arranged to enable the first and second axles toeach pivot relative to the mounting formation about the longitudinalaxis of the bogie beam by virtue of first and second flexure zones ofthe bogie beam, the first flexure zone being located between themounting formation and the first axle and the second flexure zone beinglocated between the mounting formation and the second axle. Flexurezones advantageously require no maintenance and do not suffer fromoperational contact wear.

The flexure zones can each comprise a portion of the bogie beam whichhas a box section, C section or I section profile.

The flexure zones can each occupy a majority of the length of the bogiebeam between the mounting formation and the respective axle.

The bogie beam can comprise a central body portion which includes themounting formation and a pair of rotatable mounted end bosses whichsupport the axles, the bogie beam being arranged to enable the first andsecond axles to each pivot relative to the mounting formation about thelongitudinal axis of the bogie beam by virtue of the end bosses. Such anarrangement can be simpler to design and can be tailored to specificload requirements based on the configurations of the joints and bearingsemployed.

In accordance with a second aspect of the present invention, there isprovided an aircraft landing gear assembly comprising:

-   -   a first elongate bogie beam including a first mounting formation        via which the first bogie beam is arranged to be pivotally        mounted to an aircraft landing gear main strut and defining a        first bogie pivot axis;    -   a second elongate bogie beam including a second mounting        formation, defining a second bogie pivot axis, via which the        second bogie beam is arranged to be pivotally mounted to the        aircraft landing gear main strut in a side by side adjacent        relationship with the first bogie pivot axis being coaxial with        respect to the second bogie pivot axis;    -   a first axle mounted at a first end region of the first bogie        beam, the first axle defining a first wheel mounting portion on        a first side of the first bogie beam for supporting a first        wheel assembly;    -   a second axle mounted at a second end region of the first bogie        beam, the second axle defining a second wheel mounting portion        on the first side of the first bogie beam for supporting a        second wheel assembly;    -   a third axle mounted at a first end region of the second bogie        beam, the third axle defining a third wheel mounting portion on        a second side of the second bogie beam for supporting a first        wheel assembly, the second side facing away from the first bogie        beam; and    -   a fourth axle mounted at a second end region of the second bogie        beam, the fourth axle defining a fourth wheel mounting portion        on the second side of the bogie beam for supporting a fourth        wheel assembly,    -   such that the first and second bogie beams can independently        pivot about the respective bogie pivot axes in order to place a        wheel rim of a wheel assembly in contact with the ground in the        event of a tyre of the wheel assembly deflating.

Thus, two parallel bogie beams are provided in a ‘dual bicycle’arrangement in which the bogie beams can pivot about their mounting axesindependently to account for any difference in rolling radius betweenthe front and back tyres. Such an arrangement can limit the number ofjoints requiring maintenance. The splitting of the bogie beams can alsopermit a segregation of the systems supporting braking and, ifnecessary, brake torque compensation, which can be advantageous from asafety perspective.

The aircraft landing gear assembly can further comprise the aircraftlanding gear main strut, the main strut comprising:

-   -   a body portion including a main aircraft coupling via which the        main strut is arranged to be movably coupled to an aircraft;    -   a bogie mounting portion including a first axle portion arranged        to pivotally mount the first bogie beam via the first mounting        formation and a second axle portion arranged to pivotally mount        the second bogie beam via the second mounting formation; and    -   a flexible or dynamic bearing region connecting the body portion        to the bogie mounting portion for pivotal movement between them.

The flexible or dynamic bearing region can comprise a spherical bearing.This enables the landing gear assembly to place the wheel rims on oneside of the landing gear in contact with the ground in the event oftheir tyres deflating when the wheels on the other side are inflated.

In accordance with a further aspect of the invention, there is providedan aircraft including one or more aircraft landing gear assembliesaccording to the first aspect or the second aspect.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Embodiments of the invention will now be described with reference to theaccompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 a is a schematic side view of a known aircraft landing gearassembly including a bogie beam;

FIG. 1 b illustrates the landing gear assembly of FIG. 1 a with adeflated tyre;

FIG. 2 a is a schematic front view of a known landing gear assembly inwhich two wheels are mounted on a common axle;

FIG. 2 b illustrates the landing gear assembly of FIG. 2 a with adeflated tyre;

FIG. 3 is a longitudinal cross section diagram of an aircraft landinggear assembly according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 4 is a longitudinal cross section diagram of an aircraft landinggear assembly according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 5 is a longitudinal cross section diagram of an aircraft landinggear assembly according to an embodiment of the present invention; and

FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram illustrating a bottom end of a strut whichcan carry the landing gear assembly of FIG. 5 .

FIGS. 7 a-7 c schematically illustrate a cross section view of a bogiebeam flexure zone, as viewed along a longitudinal axis of the bogiebeam, in which the cross section comprises a box section, a C section,and an I section, respectively.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

FIG. 1 a illustrates a known aircraft landing gear assembly generally at100.

The landing gear assembly 100 includes a main strut 102 which is movablycoupled to an aircraft (not shown). A bogie beam 104 is pivotallymounted at a lower end of the main strut 102 via a pivot pin 106. At oneend, or front, of the bogie beam 104 there is mounted a wheel assembly112 on axle 108. At the other end, or back, of the bogie beam 104 thereis mounted a second wheel assembly 114 via a second axle 110. Each wheelassembly can incorporate a brake assembly.

FIG. 1 b shows the landing gear assembly of FIG. 1 a with a deflatedrear tyre 114. As can be seen, the bogie beam 104 has rotated relativeto the strut 102 to account for the difference in rolling radius due tothe deflated tyre 114.

However, as illustrated in FIGS. 2 a and 2 b , in the case of landinggear assemblies in which a pair of wheel assemblies 112 a, 112 b aremounted on a common axle 108, and one wheel 112 b deflates, the bogiebeam 104 cannot pivot to account for the deflated tyre 112 b because theend region of the bogie beam 104 adjacent the axle 108 is supported bythe inflated tyre 112 a. This results in flexure of the landing gearcomponents including the axle 108, bogie beam 104 and strut 102.Consequently, these components must be of sufficient size and/orstrength to withstand such loading. Other components of the landing gearalso need to be sized to deal with the increased load on them i.e. thefull load taken on three tyres, or the full load taken on two tyres.

The present inventor has identified that the weight of known landinggear can be reduced by designing a landing gear assembly in which thebogie beam is arranged to place a wheel rim of a wheel assembly incontact with the ground in the event of a tyre of the wheel assemblydeflating. As such, the landing gear can be designed for the full loaddistributed evenly across four loading points (tyre or wheel rim).

FIG. 3 is a diagram of part of an aircraft; more specifically, anaircraft landing gear assembly 10 according to an embodiment of theinvention. The landing gear assembly 10 is shown in cross sectionthrough the longitudinal axis of the bogie beam 12.

The bogie beam 12 is generally of conventional construction in that itincludes a central pivot bearing 14 by which it can be pivotallyconnected to an aircraft landing gear main strut (not shown), such as arigid strut or a shock absorbing strut, so as to pivot about a bogiepivot axis M.

At a first end region 22, the bogie 12 includes axle mounting bushes 16in which a first axle 18 is mounted. A second end region 24 of the bogie12 also includes axle mounting bushes 16 via which a second axle 20 ismounted. The longitudinal axis B of the first axle 18 is parallel withrespect to the longitudinal axis B of the second axle 20.

The aircraft landing gear assembly 10 of the illustrated embodimentdiffers from a conventional aircraft landing gear assembly in that itincludes flexure zones FZ1, FZ2.

The first flexure zone FZ1 is located between the bogie pivot bearing 14and the first axle 18. It encompasses a majority of the length of thebogie beam 12 between these two items. However, in other embodiments theflexure zone can be defined by the entirety of the distance between thebogie pivot bearing 14 and the first axle 18, or the flexure zone FZ1can be defined by less than half the distance between these two items.

Similarly, the second flexure zone FZ2 is located on the other side ofthe bogie beam 12 between the bogie pivot bearing 14 and the second axle20. Otherwise, the second flexure zone FZ2 can be identical to the firstflexure zone FZ1.

The flexure zones FZ1, FZ2 are arranged to permit the axles 18, 20 torotate relative to bogie pivot bearing 14 about the longitudinal axis Lof the bogie beam. As such, in the event of a tyre deflating, the bogiebeam 12 can flex to allow the axle to rotate sufficiently to place thedeflated wheel assembly in contact with the ground, meaning that eachwheel is equally loaded despite the deflated tyre(s). For a wheelassembly with a deflated tyre, the load can be supported by the wheelrim.

The present inventor found a bogie beam 12 with flexure zones FZ1, FZ2of box section, or open section, such as C or I section, can provide therequired degree of flexure in the event of a tyre deflation. Suitablegeometries can be determined using routine testing.

FIG. 4 shows an aircraft landing gear assembly according to a furtherembodiment of the invention generally at 30. The aircraft landing gearassembly 30 is similar to the aircraft landing gear 10 according to theprevious embodiment and like parts have been given like referencenumerals. For brevity, the following description will focus on thedifferences.

The aircraft landing gear assembly 30 of the present embodiment isconfigured to enable the axles 18, 20 to rotate or pivot relative to thebogie pivot axis M about the longitudinal axis L of the bogie beam byvirtue of rotatable end sections 34, 36.

More specifically, the bogie beam 32 comprises a main body portion 32which has cylindrical end bearings 32 a, 32 b at its ends. The endbearings 32 a, 32 b are arranged to rotatably support first and secondend bosses 34, 36 such that the end bosses 34, 36 can rotate relative tothe bogie body 32 about the longitudinal axis L. The bosses 32, 36 eachinclude axle mounting bushes 16 arranged to mount the first and secondaxles, 18, 20 in the conventional manner.

In the event of a tyre on an axle deflating, the boss and axle canrotate together relative to the bogie beam in order to place the rim ofthe deflated wheel assembly in contact with the ground, therebyequalizing loading on the wheel.

Means can be provided to maintain the orientation of the axles 18, 20relative to the bogie pivot axis M during ‘weight off wheels’ operationssuch as pre-touchdown landing descent and immediately following takeoff. For example, biasing means such as springs may be provided to biasthe axles to parallel planes with respect to the longitudinal axis andbogie pivot axis M, the spring forces being such that it can be overcomein the event of a tyre deflating.

Thus, both of the above-identified embodiments of the invention includea bogie beam which is arranged to permit the axles to rotate relative tothe central portion of the encompassing the bogie pivot axis in theevent of tyre deflation.

FIG. 5 shows an aircraft landing gear assembly 40 according to a furtherembodiment of the invention. The landing gear assembly 40 includes firstand second bogie beams 42 a, 42 b arranged to be mounted in a parallelside by side relationship. The bogie beams 42 a, 42 b each includeidentical pivot bearings 44 a, 44 b arranged to receive a common bogiepivot pin, or coaxial bogie pivot pins, (not shown) so that the bogiebeams 42 a, 42 b pivot about a common bogie pivot axis M.

At a first end, the first bogie beam 42 a includes a conventionalmounting bushing 46 a by which a first axle half 50 a is mounted. Thesecond bogie beam 42 b includes a corresponding mounting bushing 46 bwhich carries a second axle half 50 b. The first and second axle halves50 a, 50 b are aligned with a common axis B when the bogie beams 42 a,42 b are aligned in registration with one another i.e. in the sameplane.

Similarly, a second end of the first bogie beam 42 a includes aconventional mounting bushing 46 a which mounts a third axle half 48 aand the second 42 b includes a conventional mounting bushing 26 b whichmounts a fourth axle half 48 b.

Each axle half 50 a, 50 b, 48 a, 48 b, is arranged to mount a singlewheel assembly.

Therefore, in the event of the tyre of a wheel assembly mounted on thefirst axle half 50 a deflating, the first bogie 42 a can rotate aboutthe bogie pivot axis M independently of the second bogie 42 b so as toplace the rim of the deflated wheel assembly in contact with the ground.Likewise for any of the other wheel assemblies.

While the arrangement of the landing gear assembly 40 reduces the amountof flexure required by components of the aircraft landing gear in orderto account for the deflated tyre, it does not substantially eliminatesuch flexure.

Therefore, and referring additionally to FIG. 6 , the strut 52 cancomprise an upper strut portion 54 that extends along a longitudinalaxis 64 and is arranged to be movably coupled by a main aircraftcoupling 62 (illustrated schematically) to an aircraft (not shown), anda bogie mounting formation 58 connected to the upper portion 54 via amulti-axis joint 56, such as a spherical joint. The bogie mountingformation 58 can include a first axle portion 60 a arranged to mount thefirst bogie beam 42 a, and a second, coaxial, axle 60 b arranged tomount the second bogie beam 42 b. Thus, the bogie mounting formation 58can move relative to the upper strut portion 54 in a lateral directionto substantially isolate the remaining components of the landing gearassembly from loads that would otherwise be imparted due to tyredeflation.

In any embodiment, it is preferred that the bogie beam is arranged toenable the first and second axles to each pivot relative to the mountingformation about the longitudinal axis of the bogie beam by at least 8°and in some embodiments at least 10° or 12°. The degree of pivotingrequired depends on the ratio of tyre rolling radius to wheel rim radiusand the spacing between the two wheel assemblies on the axle. In oneexample, a wheel assembly may have a rolling radius of approximately0.65 m, a wheel rim radius of approximately 0.36 m and a spacing ofapproximately 1.4 m centre to centre between wheel assemblies on anaxle, meaning that one flat tyre would require an angle of approximately12° to place the wheel rim in contact with the ground in the event ofthe tyre fully deflating. In another example, a wheel assembly may havea rolling radius of approximately 0.65 m, a wheel rim radius ofapproximately 0.36 m and a spacing of approximately 1.74 m centre tocentre between wheel assemblies on an axle, meaning that one flat tyrewould require an angle of approximately 9.6° to place the wheel rim incontact with the ground in the event of the tyre fully deflating.

Landing gear assemblies according to embodiments of the invention can beformed of conventional aerospace materials, such as stainless steel,aluminum or titanium. Certain components such as the bogie beam can beformed from fibre reinforced composite material.

Landing gear assemblies according to embodiments of the invention can bemain landing gear assemblies for medium to large aircrafts.

Although the invention has been described above with reference to one ormore preferred embodiments, it will be appreciated that various changesor modifications can be made without departing from the scope of theinvention as defined in the appended claims. The word “comprising” canmean “including” or “consisting of” and therefore does not exclude thepresence of elements or steps other than those listed in any claim orthe specification as a whole. The mere fact that certain measures arerecited in mutually different dependent claims does not indicate that acombination of these measures cannot be used to advantage.

The invention claimed is:
 1. An aircraft landing gear assemblycomprising: a main strut comprising: a body portion extending along alongitudinal axis and including a main aircraft coupling via which themain strut is arranged to be movably coupled to an aircraft, a bogiemounting portion including a first axle portion and a second axleportion, and a dynamic bearing region connecting the body portion to thebogie mounting portion for pivotal movement between the body portion andthe bogie mounting portion, wherein the body portion is spaced along thelongitudinal axis from the first and second axle portions, and thedynamic bearing region is located along the longitudinal axis betweenthe body portion and the first and second axle portions; and wherein thebogie mounting portion extends along the longitudinal axis; a firstelongate bogie beam including a first bearing via which the first bogiebeam is arranged to be pivotally mounted to the first axle portion anddefining a first bogie pivot axis; a second elongate bogie beamincluding a second bearing, defining a second bogie pivot axis, viawhich the second bogie beam is arranged to be pivotally mounted to thesecond axle portion in a side by side adjacent relationship, with thefirst bogie pivot axis being coaxial with respect to the second bogiepivot axis; a first axle mounted at a first end region of the firstbogie beam, the first axle defining a first wheel mounting portion on afirst side of the first bogie beam for supporting a first wheelassembly; a second axle mounted at a second end region of the firstbogie beam, the second axle defining a second wheel mounting portion onthe first side of the first bogie beam for supporting a second wheelassembly; a third axle mounted at a first end region of the second bogiebeam, the third axle defining a third wheel mounting portion on a secondside of the second bogie beam for supporting a third wheel assembly, thesecond side facing away from the first bogie beam; and a fourth axlemounted at a second end region of the second bogie beam, the fourth axledefining a fourth wheel mounting portion on the second side of the bogiebeam for supporting a fourth wheel assembly; wherein the first bogiebeam is pivotable about the first bogie pivot axis independently frompivoting of the second bogie beam about the second bogie pivot axis inorder to place a wheel rim of a wheel assembly in contact with a groundsurface in an event of a tyre of the wheel assembly deflating.
 2. Theaircraft landing gear assembly according to claim 1, wherein the dynamicbearing region comprises a spherical bearing.
 3. An aircraft includingone or more aircraft landing gear assemblies according to claim
 1. 4.The aircraft landing gear assembly according to claim 1, wherein thedynamic bearing region is arranged along the longitudinal axis betweenthe body portion and the first axle portion and the second axle portion.5. The aircraft assembly according to claim 1, wherein the dynamicbearing region is arranged along the longitudinal axis between the bodyportion and the bogie mounting portion.